Thursday, April 23, 2009

Coffee Ice Cream


I think coffee ice cream is magical. It's a flavor that even some of my non-coffee-drinking friends still enjoy as an ice cream. Of course if you're a coffee drinker like I am, then coffee ice cream might be sheer euphoria. And I'm all for strong flavor; I drink my coffee black and want to taste the quality of the beans without the distraction of cream and sugar.

This ice cream recipe by David Lebovitz is outstanding. Be sure to select carefully the coffee beans you use for it because they will determine the taste of the end product. Since the recipe calls for a cup and a half of beans that you're going to discard afterward, I went to Trader Joe's and got one of those large cheap canisters of a bold coffee. I figured that way if I screwed up or the recipe wasn't as dreamy as I had hoped, I didn't invest too much. Well, I've got a couple of things to say about that. First, I was an idiot to question for even a second that a David Lebovitz ice cream could be anything less than perfect. Second, the Trader Joe's coffee was fantastic, and so now I know I can get away with making great ice cream from cheap beans.

Every time you make this ice cream, it will come out differently. Think of the possibilities. I mean, no two brews are alike, plus, if you keep trying different coffee brands, you'll keep getting different ice creams! Next time I'm going to try Dunkin' Donuts French Vanilla coffee beans. Maybe then I won't scare my sister off. She normally loves coffee ice cream, but my version made with a very bold bean was actually more than she could handle as someone who doesn't drink her coffee black. I'll try not to make my flavors all about me in the future. :)


Coffee Ice Cream
Recipe by David Lebovitz in The Perfect Scoop
Makes about 1 quart

1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee

Warm the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.

Rewarm the coffee-infused milk mixture. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible, then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla and the finely ground coffee and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Step-by-Step in Pictures

Warm the milk, sugar, beans, salt and half cup of the cream...

Cover, remove from heat, and let steep for 1 hour...

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and then add the warmed coffee-infused milk...

Pour the egg-coffee-milk mixture back into the saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat till mixture thickens...

Pour the custard through a strainer and into a bowl containing the remaining 1 cup of cream...

After discarding the beans, add the vanilla and finely ground coffee and stir over an ice bath...
The ice cream mixture is ready to go in the fridge (I insist on chilling it overnight)...

Take the mixture out of the fridge and pour into your ice cream maker...

When it's done churning, it will look like this yummy soft serve ice cream...

Serve soft or freeze until hard...

Scoop and enjoy!

7 comments:

Mom said...

That looks so good! I love my coffee black and I wish I could eat your ice cream picture off my screen right now!!

Zach Landes said...

This looks absolutely incredible. Will you make this for me when I am in California in August? I want mine with Pete's beans!

Carolyn Jung said...

I'm with you -- I prefer my coffee black and strong. And I prefer it even more in the form of ice cream. My stomach thanks you, but my hips do not. ;)

Anonymous said...

EEE! I'm going to have to try to veganize this. Plus, do I get bonus points for having the white version of your ice cream maker? They were sold out of the red :(

Crystal Tjhia said...

Your ice cream looks beautiful and so delicious!

Marni said...

Mom - Maybe we can make this together next time I come up to visit, and we can use one of your super strong coffees. We have to take advantage of the fact we both like black coffee! ;)

Zach - I just might do that for ya! Anything to get you to want to stay in America. :-P

Carolyn - MY hips don't thank me either! lol

Tasteslikeyum - How the heck do you veganize this? Your ambition is so impressive! And yes, you get bonus points for sure.

Crystal - Aw shucks, thanks. :)

Carolyn Jung said...

Have you tried the new Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream in the new "five'' series (only five ingredients each)? Pretty darn good, I must say. But nothing beats homemade.

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